David Lester (musician)

David Lester is the guitar player in the Vancouver, Canada based band Mecca Normal.

David Lester of Mecca Normal

Lester met Mecca Normal bandmate Smith in 1981 while the two were working together at a Vancouver newspaper.[1] As a result of their collaboration, Mecca Normal is considered a forerunner and an inspiration to the 1990s politically charged riot grrrl and D-I-Y movements.[2]

Mecca Normal's albums have been released on K Records, Matador Records, Kill Rock Stars and the band's own Smarten Up! Records—created in 1986 to release their first LP.[3]

In 2007, Mecca Normal was named one of 10 famous Canadians you’ve never heard of by Canada's national newspaper, The Globe & Mail.[4]

Lester with Wendy Atkinson at the 21st Olympia Experimental Music Festival (2015).

Lester has also collaborated with experimental bassist Wendy Atkinson to form the duo Horde of Two. They released their debut CD Guitar & Bass Actions on Smarten Up! & Get To The Point Records in 2009.[5]

In 2016, Mecca Normal‘s song Man Thinks Woman (1987) is included in Pitchfork‘s "The Story of Feminist Punk in 33 Songs: From Patti Smith to Bikini Kill, the songs that have crushed stereotypes and steered progress".[6]

In 2019, Lester illustrates the graphic novel 1919: A Graphic History of the Winnipeg General Strike (Between The Lines Books), written by The Graphic History Collective.[7] The book is published in German (Bahoe Books) and French (Between The Lines) editions.[8]

Lester creates a 5 x 3’ mural for a 2019 permanent exhibit called Coal, Conflict and Community at Cumberland Museum & Archives depicting significant figures in the areas political and social history.[9][10]

The New York Times in 2019, lists Mecca Normal‘s I Walk Alone as an essential song in their article, Riot Grrrl United Feminism and Punk. An Essential Listening Guide. 25 songs that fueled a rock revolution.[11]

In a 2020 Rolling Stone magazine feature on Riot Grrrl, Mecca Normal’s I Walk Alone is included on a playlist of 23 songs.[12]